Streets of Gold
by WhiteLight12
Summary: In the heart of New York City, the big apple, lives a young German Shepherd half breed who strives with her canine gang as they do everything they can to help their master from a loan shark along with their little kitty friend.
1. Chapter 1 Prologue

The city that never sleeps. New York City. The city that I call home ever since I was just a puppy. Very few things had haunted me at such a young age. I do remember being left in the cold, rainy night by my mother. She didn't want to raise me and I never understood why. What did I do wrong? I'm only half German Shepherd and… my other half was her but I don't know what that is and my left flopped ear doesn't make any difference to me. I would hide out under rusted garbage bins considering it was the only thing my small body could fit under. I whimpered sadly in hopes of getting through to anyone within earshot of me. My body shook and shook from how cold it was that night. All I could do was close my eyes and await death but… I soon realized that my cries were heard.

I was then rescued by a kind hearted human who took me out of the frigid rain and back to his place in a worn old boat at the bottom of the bay with other dogs, who immediately took me in, gave me a blue bandana, and gave me my name. Plus, those dogs have become not only my dear and close friends but they're my family.

First we got Dodger, he's the leader of our gang and quite the wise cracker. He's got a cool attitude and knows the streets just as well as the rest of us. He's like a brother to me and I don't mind pumbling him every now and again. Next is Rita, she is my current best friend. She is a tough yet sweet natured. I love spending time with her and she's like a mother to me.

Next is Tito, the smallest of the gang. He's quite the hot head and he's a bit of a hopeless romantic. He often annoys us with his annoying choice of music that he often dances to. But underneath that, he's actually very good hearted.

Next we have Francis, the sophisticated one of our gang. He mostly spends his time watching the old tv that we have in our old boat house watching his daily dramas. Kind of an overachiever if put nicely.

Next is Einstein, not exactly the smartest tool in the shed but he's a good guy. Rather protective towards us, and the biggest dog out of all of us. With me being the third tallest yet second strongest because of me being half german shepherd.

And last but not least is our caretaker, Fagin, a.k.a the human who found me when I was a pup. Sure, he's a clumsy and skewed fellow, but he's lovable and cares for each of us equally. He's also in some trouble with a sadistic and villainous man he calls Sykes.

And last but not least is Sykes' personal lap dogs, Roscoe and Desoto. I can't stand those two mongrels because of their vicious, mean spirited attitude and disgustingly intelligence to add into the mix. They even try to hit on both Rita and I and it's always disgusted both of us. But considering they work for that brute, they're not easy to manipulate.

And myself, Rose, a German Shepherd half breed who loves living in the city with my friends and being a happy as can be. I'm also protective of my friends when they need to be defended. And if only what we had in store for us when a new member joins our gang. And it's not a dog either.


	2. Chapter 2 A New Member

The air in the houseboat seemed muggy this evening, which makes me sleepy every time the 7 of us bunk down here for the even and out of the prying eyes of the humans of New York. The only ones gone where Dodger and Fagin. The rest of us decided to stay back home to just wait them out. Hopefully they'll come back with some food because I can't be the only one who's hungry around here! I slept soundly on my old bean bag chair with my dog forelegs crossed in front of me with my head on top of them. Both of my ears were laid back slightly. My fluffy tail was on my right side because my hind legs were on my right side. I had my eyes shut and tried to sleep and tuned out the annoying music that Tito enjoys so much. A part of me wants to pick that up with my teeth and throw it in the bay. He contradicts that it's not irritating in the slightest but boy is he dang wrong!

I tilt my head to the right a little bit and open my right eye to see Tito dancing his way towards the loot box that has the stuff we brought in. Me personally, brought in a old book in hopes that could change things with that brute Sykes. From what I've heard from those dastardly doberman's, he wanted something that's worth his while and I hope that book helps. He just wants his cold hard green cash or something like that. "Tito! Stop that racket! I'm trying to watch this show!" Francis scolded in an annoyed tone. I rolled my eyes and moved my head to look away from him and I tried to sleep. When I realized it wasn't working, I just raise my head and let out a yawn and I smack my jaws together. Francis was, not surprisingly, watching something that I'm not familiar with and he was mimicking it as if he was apart of it.

Then, Tito jumps in front of the tv, full on blocking his view. "Hey Frankie, whatcha watching man? Does he get the girl? What happens man?" Tito asked, still in Francis' way. "Shut up, you little rodent." Francis scolds snobbishly. I shake my head along with my fur. Can't blame Tito for being curious. "Well, to be honest Francis, it is pretty boring. And with you mimicking it, it's annoying. How about put some boxing because that's more entertaining." I chime in. The wrinkly dog glares at me but I don't falter. "Ey, Rosie! She understands!" Tito cheered, giving me a high five with our left forepaws. Francis tried slapping the little dog but was quick to avoid it. "Ey, Frankie, Que Paso? You've gotten slow man!" Tito teased, his tail wagging vigorously. Francis, being offended, put his forepaw on his chest. "My name is Francis. Fran-cis. Not Frank. Not Frankie. Francis. Even Rose can get it precise." Francis corrected, getting me to roll my yellow brown eyes. "No kidding man! So what did you bring in today, Frahn-cees?" Tito said, imitating the motions Francis was making. "It's none of your business! You intrusive little pipsqueak." Francis answered, being secretive. I ended up chuckling at what he said.

"No need to be secretive, Francis. If if makes you feel any better, I found an old book to hopefully appease you know who." I say, my floppy ear raised a bit. "See? At least someone's being open about what they brought in." Tito said, once again giving me a high five with the same paw. Francis looked on in defeat. "Look what I've got." Einstein said, walking up to us with a broken tennis racket. We all look up at him. My pointed ear was raised all the way and a smile appeared on my face. "Oh good show Einstein. All we need is the net and court." Francis sarcastically says, rolling his eyes. I roll my eyes and stand in the bean bag and I get out of it. I stretch all four of my legs and shake my black and brown fur along with my floppy ear.

"You think this place is big enough?" Einstein asked, taking it into consideration. Francis didn't mean what he said but I didn't want to ruin it for him. "Hey, man, all we need is some good quality stuff. Check it out!" Tito said, holding that torn wallet in his teeth again with a cheeky grin. "Oh, shredded leather." Francis dissed Tito. "Shredded wha-? What you talkin' about man? That's primo wallet man!" Tito shouted, chucking the wallet to the floor. Francis just had his eyes closed and looked away from us. "Rubbish you mean?" Francis said. Tito then bared his teeth and jumped around angrily around Francis. "Alright that does it man! You insulted my pride! That means death!" he shouted, clearly offended. I just sit down and use my left hind leg to scratch my floppy ear because I didn't want to listen to this petty argument. "Cut it out, you two. You know Rose doesn't like it when you two fight." Rita's voice broke the fight. I look over to her to see her give them. Well, she's not wrong because I don't like it when they argue.

Rita walks over to the loot box and looks down into it. "Fagin's not going to be happy about this. So Francis, you got the food right?" she asked, pulling her head back a bit. Francis then cowers down a bit. "Well… I…" he stuttered. The four of us began to protest in annoyance. I stand up and put my right forepaw forward, lower my head with both ears forward and my german shepherd tail raised. "Frankie! It was your turn to get our food today! Why do you slack off?" I growl, getting irritated. The others agreed with me on that because Francis was supposed to get food today because I was getting hungry.

"Aw man! It's newspaper burritos again!" Tito whined, shaking his head. "Whoa whoa, cool it Dodger fans." the voice of Dodger made my head raise. He was leaning against the wall of the entrance with his forelegs crossed. He had a cool expression on his furry face. He had a link of hot dogs around his neck, covering his red bandana. "Allow me to introduce you to… your dinner. Hot dogs a la carte." Dodger said, throwing the hotdogs to us. My furry tail wagged at seeing the delicious hot dogs. "The dodge man strikes again!" I say, excited to see not only food but him also. I sit next to Rita on her left side. "You remain our preeminent benefactor." Francis said. "So how'd you do this time, Dodge?" Rita wondered. I lay down in front of the hotdogs and pick on up with my teeth and begin eating before Dodger started to explain how things went down with him. "Let me tell you Rita. It was tough. Only I could've done it." Dodger says, sounding dramatic. "Did you get into a fight? How many were there?!" Tito mused, bouncing on Einstein's head, in between his small floppy ears. I chewed on my hotdog and it tasted so delicious in my mouth. "Picture the city. Eighth and Broadway. The crowds hustling, the traffic roaring, the hotdogs are sizzling." Dodger stated, marching back and forth by us, proudly shaking his head back and fourth. "I love a story with food in it!" Einstein said, enthusiastically. I glance over at him with a raised brow. "Story of my life." I say, shaking my head obviously.

"Enter Dodger, one bad puppy. Not just out for himself, but community minded. But he's not the only one out there. Enter the opposition." he continues, getting Rita and I to groan. What does he have up his fur this time? Then, he talks in a sinister tone. "The greedy, ugly, psychotic monster…" he started, coming out from behind an old plank baring his claws. "With razor sharp claws, dripping fangs, and nine lives, all of them hungry. He comes at me, eyes burning. I knew my time had come. Suddenly-" he explained exaggerated before something broke through the ceiling and into one of our blankets with a loud screech, sending all of us in a flying scared mess.

"It's the monster! Monster!" I yelp loudly, quickly hiding behind that plank Dodger was, my tail between my legs and both ears laid back. Everything was chaotic for a moment before we look from our hiding spots. I raised my ears in curiosity. "Well, what is it?" Rita wondered. No one knew the answer to that of course. Tito bravely walked up to it while sniffing it. Then, a small paw reaches out and grabs Tito's nose with a tight grip. His fur stood on end while he screeched that it was an alien.

But it was not an alien at all. Under that cover, was just a small orange cat. I automatically bare my teeth at the cat and begin to growl lowly, my hackles raised up. "Cool it guys it's just a cat." Rita said, glaring down at the cat. I walk up to the cat, my teeth still bared and my eyes narrowed."iMi madre, un gato!" Tito growled, his teeth bared too. We all surrounded the small cat, who seemed frightened by our introduction towards him. "Explain yourself cat. How did you find this place?" I growl, lowering my head. "I… I followed this dog." he answered. I lifted my head and tilted it to left, because why would a cat do that since they'd usually run away from dogs like us.

"He's lying! He's lying! He's lying!" Tito shouted, bouncing up and down before Rita kicked him back with her right hind paw. "Shut up, Tito!" she scolded. I kept looking at the cat with my eyes narrowed while my head was lowered and my ears forward. "Why would a cat follow a dog?" Francis asked. Einstein lowered his head and curled his lips. "Yeah?" he agreed. The cat was still cowered down because he believed we would kill him or something. "I-I just wanted some of the sausages I helped him get." he answered timidly. When he said that, I raised my head again and my floppy ear went back some. "He's a spy man! Let's eat 'im! You dead meat kitty!" Tito declared. I got to thinking of what Dodger was saying because he was telling us about battling some monster with sharp claws and fangs. "But I saw him come down!" the cat said, looking around for Dodger. He then looked over at the armchair and told us to look over there.

I raise my head and my left eye cocked when we see Dodger chilling on the armchair that Francis was sitting on earlier with sunglasses on his muzzle and over his eyes with baseball on the tv. "Hey, kitty. What took you so long?" he casually said. That's when I started to laugh at this because the 'monster' was a cat! I walk over to Dodger with a cheeky grin. The others laugh with me out of the ridiculousness of that situation. "You, the almighty Dodger, getting help from a cat! I thought I'd never see the day!" I laugh, going up to Dodger with my tail wagging some. "Agreed, Rose! We thought he'd have razor sharp fangs and claws." Francis boasted. "Hey, keep it down guys. The game's on." Dodger said, trying to avoid the conflict. Tito bounces on his nose and he knocked his sunglasses off. "Just like the Rosie said, our top dog gets help from a cat!" Tito chittered, jumping at the tv to turn it off. "Okay, Rose and Tito, you two need to cool it." Dodger said, rolling his eyes. I bounded over to him with my fluffy tail wagging. "He thinks he's so tough, huh? I'd like to see him try!" I teased, bowing down in my play bow position and I began to wag my tail. "I'm with Rosie on this one!" Tito agreed. The little man actually agreed with me.

"Hey, Tito, Rose look!" Dodger shouted, looking ahead of us. Once we look behind us, Dodger makes his break to jump on top of us. I play growl and we tumble against Francis; who join in. I play bit them as Einstein joins in. Then, Rita decides to join in the play fighting after I catch a glimpse of Tito getting tossed at her. I playfully bit on Dodger's leg but I was bitten on my tail. "Hey knock it off! What's the matter with you guys?" the voice of Fagin, our master, scolded. The five of us stop play fighting. I had Tito in my mouth due to the play fighting. The six of us look on at our master to see that he had an unopened box of dog treats in his hands. In pure excitement, we all charged towards him. I had my tongue hanging out as I ran to him. "No, no, no!" he said, holding his hand out in an attempt to stop us. But it was too late as we had already tackled him to the ground.

I couldn't control my excitement and I had put both forepaws on his chest while licking his face repeatedly. My tail wagged vigorously and I whined happily. The others were doing the same thing as me and we all showed him love. "No licking! Ha ha ha! What a joke! Settle down!" Fagin exclaimed while chuckling. Suddenly, our whirlwind of love and affection had come to a halt by a few, loud honks that caused us to stop in our tracks. "Sykes!" Fagin exclaimed, gritting his teeth out of nervousness. We all backed down and got off of Fagin because we knew what had to be done. Both of my ears went flat and my head lowered. I backed off to where Rita was standing. "Alright alright I'm coming! I'll be right there!" Fagin exclaimed, crawling on the floor before going to the loot box. "Okay, you guys! Don't let me down! What you got for me?" Fagin said frantically as he picked up the wallet Tito had. "It's worthless! What have you done? Oh how are we ever going to pay Sykes off with… a pussycat?" Fagin questions, pulling the cat out of the loot box.

Then, Sykes' dobermans, Roscoe and Desoto, bursted through the door loudly in low threatening growls. I went defensive and stood on my german shepherd paws. I lower my head and raise my ears. My floppy ear was in front of my head and my tail was raised to show dominance. I lower my head and stood in a defensive stance. Fagin approached them, only to have them heavily chomp at his hand. The mongrels made sure that Fagin was going to meet the brute. They then turn towards us with their evil grins and they chuckle sadistically. Rita glanced over at me and I glanced back and we glanced at Dodger because we knew what we were getting ourselves into.

The dobermans were now walking around the place with their heads held up high. "You know, Rose and Rita, I can't figure out why you two would hang around a dump like this instead of living in uptown with a class act like myself." Roscoe said, bringing his flirty face towards the two of us. Disgusted, I backed away with both ears back a little. "Not interested." I say, backing up. He's always perving on us female dogs and it sickens me and Rita. "Isn't it dangerous to use one's entire vocabulary in one sentence?" Francis said. It took all my energy not to laugh at that. He gave Tito a high five because of what he said before Roscoe got in Francis' face with his teeth bared. "Hey, you got something to say to me fatboy?" Roscoe threateningly said. That made me mad and I growl towards Roscoe deeply. "Leave him out of this Roscoe. He's just stating the facts." I say, still growling. The doberman turned his attention towards me. I just glared at him with my head lowered.

For a moment, I believed he would try to flirt with me again but, he ended up tackling me to the ground to where I was on back and that he was on top of me, baring his teeth at me. "You stay out of this, you half breed!" he growled. Well, so much for trying to pick me up like he did not a few minutes ago. "Oy, get off her okay?! Come at me! I'm not scared of you!" Tito scowled, wanting to take on the dobermans. I was a bit hurt that he reminded me being a half breed but I didn't falter. He did so and walked away from me. I rolled over on my belly with my forelegs out in front of me. Rita came next to me and helped me to my paws. "Are you okay, Rose?" she asked softly. I shook my fur before answering. "Yeah, Rita, I'm fine." I answer, reassuring her. The doberman stood in the middle of the room. "Go ahead. Let him go." Roscoe chuckled. Einstein was holding Tito by his tail while the chihuahua was trying to make an escape.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size? And I don't mean Rose." Einstein said. Roscoe got in his face with his nose pressed against his and his teeth bared. "Like you, old man?!" Roscoe threatened. Dodger then decided to rope the hectic conversation and he marched forward towards the hostile doberman. "Hey, Roscoe. Roscoe. Is this us losing our sense of humor?" he said with ease. "Nah. I ain't lost my sense of humor!" Roscoe said before using his hind paws to kick our tv with one hard kick, causing a loud electric crash at the wall. "See? I find that funny." he said, chuckling. So he decides to break our tv to show himself off for his sense of humor? That's not cool man. Not cool.

Suddenly, that same horn blared loudly getting the attention of Roscoe. "Hey Roscoe! Look what I found!" Desoto called, pulling on an old newspaper with the cat on it. My hackles rose on end when that mutt found him because they would hurt him. "Forget it Desoto. We got to go." Roscoe said, beginning to walk out of the door. "I like cat's. I like to eat them!" Desoto growled, getting closer to where the cat was before he suddenly jerks back with a pained growl. He ended up knocked over all the stuff that the cat was hiding behind. Roscoe rushed to his aid before the start to corner the cat in loud growls. Growling defensively, Dodger stood protectively in front of him. "Get out of my way, Dodger!" Roscoe growled. "That's enough, Roscoe." Dodger said firmly. Then, the rest of us joined him. I stood beside Dodger with my head lowered and my teeth were bared at them with both ears raised, my floppy ear in front of me. They weren't going to touch this cat.

"Run along Roscoe. You're master's calling." Rita said lowly, smirking at him. The doberman's raised their heads at that. "Unless you two want your butts kicked, I highly suggest you go to your master like the little lap dogs you are." I growl, my eyes narrowed. The doberman's than turn around to head out. "We ain't finished Dodger. You guys are going to pay for this. Starting with that cat." Roscoe stated, getting me to growl even more. But once they were out of sight, I calmed myself down. "Oh yeah! You guys don't scare me! Come back and say that to my face!" Tito shouted, going up a couple of steps. It wasn't the first time he's tried to challenge them. Once they were gone, he trotted down the steps with his head held up high. "Yeah those creeps will think twice before hassling us man!" Tito said, chuckling proudly. Dodger sat down in front of the cat with a grin on the on his shaggy furred face. "All right kid. What'd I tell you guys? Ol' Dodge can really pick them." Dodger said smugly. I just shook my black and brown fur, my floppy ear flopping around. Just then, the sound of the door opening caught our attention.

Turning my head towards the door, it was Fagin soaking wet from head to toe. He looked so depressed… This worried me and my head and ears lowered out of concern. "Three days…" he whispered, stripping himself of his sopping wet trench coat onto the floor. He went to sit on the armchair and he lazily got his shoes off his feet. I look over at the gang, who too were concerned and worried for him. "How am I ever going to come up with all that money?" he said in a whimper. The six of us walked up to him and decided to help him through his sorrow. I went over to my old bean bag chair and picked up a pillow from there to help him relax his head. I held it firmly with my teeth with both of my ears laid back and my fluffy tail laid limpy behind me. When I brought it over, he leaned forward and I put it behind his head. But I didn't get down from standing on my hind legs. I lay my head on my forepaws while I looked up at him sadly. "What's the use? I'll never get out from under that maniac." he sighed sadly. My german shepherd ears were completely laid back.

"My days are limited… and the number is three. It's hopeless." he continued to sulk, Rita and Dodger pulling a blanket that she brought over. Einstein then puts one of the dog treats that Fagin brought in for him to eat. I just look at him with a sad look. When he finished it, he looks at all of us with slightly wide eyes. He then swallows before he grins at us. "Thanks guys…" he said, getting my german shepherd ears to perk up, my floppy ear resting on my forehead. I lifted my head and happily pant with my tongue hanging out. Einstein then licks him on the face countless times out of affection. "That reminds me! I saw Desoto's nose. Who did that?" Fagin laughed, looking at who gave Desoto scratch marks on his nose. Dodger then held the cat with his teeth and let Fagin hold him.

"You? You?" he said, chuckling lightly. "That took a lot of guts. We've never had a cat in the gang before. And to think Rose here would be our last member." Fagin said, getting my fluffy tail to wag. He then reaches over to pet me in between my ears, and I nuzzled my head in his hand. He's not wrong because I was only a puppy when he found me and four years later, I'm happy with him and the others. Fagin then sets the cat on his lap to stretch. He then sighs and leans down in the chair. "Alright. Time for bed. We've got a big day tomorrow." Fagin said. I get down off the chair to go back to my bean bag chair. When I jumped up on it, I twirled myself around and pawed on the chair to make it more comfortable. I laid down with my forelegs crossed and my head down on them. My hind legs were on my right side along with my tail curled around me.

I then close my eyes as Fagin started to read our favorite book because Einstein begged him to do it. A smile appears on my face because I had always enjoyed hearing him read this book to help us sleep. My head tilts to the right a little bit as I find myself finally falling asleep after that hectic event earlier. It wore me out and we all need as much rest as possible because we all know what we were getting ourselves into. I can tell them one thing, teaching our new friend how to live in the streets should be a piece of cake. And I'm excited for that.


	3. Chapter 3 Next Mission

Morning had arrived just as fast as the night. We were going to do our mission of helping Fagin with his debt with that brute. Since we have two days to get it all together, we can't mess around. We were now out of the houseboat and into Fagin's scooter. The basket was just big enough for all of us to fit in. I was towards the back with both forepaws hanging over the basket as we all rode bumply rode down the busy, crowded roads of New York City. The sun was warming not only the city but on our fur as well. I always loved the sun because of how much it warmed my fur. But I don't like the rain at all because of what happened in my past that I'd rather not discuss. But that's not important now.

I turned my head and watched as Fagin was driving through the crowd of cars. Rita was next to me with Dodger in the front of all of us. "This is the big one! We've got two days to do or die!" Fagin exclaimed, seeming determined to get this done. He then looks back at Dodger, telling him to show him the ropes about how we do things just to survive on the streets. We then take a sharp turn while Fagin was still talking to us. I partly heard what he said. We then crash on concrete floor in an alleyway. "Dead men don't buy dog food! So big smiles and get out there… and fetch!" Fagin exclaimed, tilting the basket over a bit so that we could jump out. I land on the concrete with my forepaws first then my hind paws landed after. Fagin then leaves us in the dust as he rode off to get some money. I ended up shaking my black and brown fur and I stretched my limbs.

"Okay, if Sykes doesn't get some cold hard cash soon, we are doberman chow." Dodger said, leading us out to Columbus Avenue. "Yeah, we should start in Columbus Avenue. We might find something worth his while." I say, trotting up to where Dodger was. "What kind of work do we do anyway?" the cat asked, taking interest of what we were going to do. As I walked, my fluffy tail was swaying back and forth and head was raised all the way along with my ears. "Investment banking, man." Tito answered as he grabbed an apple with his teeth from a stand and threw it to Francis, who ate it instantly. "Didn't you read about us in the Wall Street Journal?" Tito continued. "Really?" the cat asked, clearly excited. "Yes. Captains of Industry." Francis said. "Wow, can I be one too?" the cat asked. I raised my tail with my muzzle pointed up high. "Hey, when you got your pals, you've got all you need." Dodger stated, looking back at him. He isn't wrong because I love being with my friends. "We got to clean you up child and give you some on-the-job training." Rita said to the cat in an energetic tone.

"Yeah, kid, stick with us and you'll know this city like the back of your paw." I say, turning my head to look at him, starting to march proudly. We then begin to teach our newest member about living out here. From finding food and how not learning won't put food in your stomach. Once you use your head and use the talent you're born with, you'll feel right at home on the street. These are the Streets of Gold and you'll learn to love it once you learn how to survive. An unfamiliar street dog that looked mangy started chasing the cat. But I bared my teeth and growled deeply at the dog and the others joined me so our growls were mixed. The street dog saw how scary we were and ran off with his tail between his legs. You don't mess with a pack of dogs like that because we defend our own. The cat then began to yap like us dogs. We all laughed at what he was doing before we ran the other direction before suddenly stopping at the end of the alleyway so that we faced the street.

"Hello. What have we here?" Dodger said, seeing one of those long cars taking a right turn. "Alright! A chauffeur shuffle!" Tito shouted excitedly. I look at the car for a moment before turning to face Dodger. "Alright, Dodger, what's your plan?" I ask. We all faced each other so that we were in a circle. "I've got the perfect plan, Rose. Listen up everyone. Einstein, gimme a fender bender at two lights." Dodger started and Einstein agreed. "Tito, you're in charge of electronics." Dodger said, getting the chihuahua to bounce up and down. "Rose, you follow them and make sure everything goes okay." Dodger said to me. I wag my tail and nod because I was good of being sneaky and having keen eyes and ears. "On it." I agreed. "Rita and I will work the crowd. Francis?" Dodger said, turning his head towards Francis. "I know. My public awaits." Francis said, putting his forepaw on his chest and he arched his back. "What about me? What do I do?" the cat asked, looking up at Dodger. He told him to go with us. That's our best bet.

"Alright gato! Uncle Tito and Aunt Rosie will teach you how it's done!" Tito said happily. Soon enough, we all split off to do our jobs. Tito and the cat swifty jumped on the back bumper of the limo. I ran to them and use my hindpaws to jump over them and onto the top of the limo without their knowledge. I sat down on the roof and let my tail lay limply behind me as we waited for Einstein to run into the limo. For now I just enjoyed the free ride and hope no human noticed that a dog is sitting on the top of a limo. Granted, I've done this before and didn't feel any regrets of doing it. Dodger was the one who taught me to do this when I was still a very young puppy. Being 4 years old and all grown up, I use this technique frequently.

Then, I see Einstein come running out from an alley and he deliberately hit the front of the limo with a hard hit to the head. The limo suddenly stopped with a screech, causing me to slide forward a bit. I was able to catch myself and stand up on all four paws before turning and jumping off the car so I could meet Tito and the cat so that I was out of sight from the human driving this limo because they would surely indeed check to see what hit them. When I got back on the ground, I could hear the human driving get out of the car complaining about hitting something. Once he got out of the limo, the three of us went around to the drivers side because he left the door open. Tito and the cat jumped in and I stood by the door and behind the door so that I could keep an eye on them. Knowing Tito, there's a possible chance that he could mess this up so it's a good thing that Dodger sent me to hold an eye on them. All of my german shepherd paws were pressed firmly on the warm concrete road.

"Hey check it out man!" Tito chuckled, fascinated with the interior of the limo. "Hey, Rose, forget Fagin man! Let's take this baby to Atlantic City!" Tito chuckled, playfully turning the wheel. I shake my head before looking around with my ears bouncing around on my head. "As flattering as that sounds Tito, we need to focus. Get workin' on the wires." I say, not playing around. Tito rolled his eyes before he went under the steering wheel to deal with the wires. As he began, the cat jumped on the dashboard. "Hey, Rose, Tito, what do I do?" the cat asked, wanting to participate. "How about being the look out? Yeah be the lookout." Tito said. The cat was confused about what that term is. "What is that exactly?" he asked, tilting his head a bit. I looked up at him and smiled at him. "Just look out the window and let us know if the driver comes back." I tell him. Suddenly, a strange sound hits me in my ears, causing my ears to twitch.

"Hey! Hey, Tito, Rose! There's something back there." the cat warned us, lowering his head to whisper to us. I backed up a bit before saying, "Tito, hurry it up!" "Hey, stop hassling me okay? I only got one more wire!" Tito grunted with irritance as he tugged another wire. Just then, the cat tried getting to a lower level but he accidently stepped on the ignition, electrocuting Tito. He screamed from the shock and the car began to go absolutely crazy. The sound alone scared the life out of me and I winded up running the other direction, leaving the cat and Tito behind because I kind of knew they'd make it out of there. Hopefully, he'd get the cat out of there before anyone could spot him.

I kept running with my ears laid back because of how much that sound scared me because I always had sensitive hearing. "Let's get out of here!" Dodger exclaimed, leading the pack once again. We all hid behind boxes behind the alleyway. There was now quite the uproar in the street because of that accident. I lower my German Shepherd dog head and pant with my head lowered and my tongue hanging out. "Where's the kid? Rose, Tito, where is he?" Dodger asked, making me feel guilty because I just left them. Tito coughed and was all black and his fur was singed from being electrocuted. "He must still be in the car man!" Tito said. We all looked around the corner to see that limo drive off with the cat in it. "Oh that poor kid." Rita said in worry. "You two were supposed to keep an eye on him!" Dodger scolded, narrowing his eyes. His slightly floppy ears were pointed forward. "Yeah well, it's hard to watch anything when you're getting barbequed man! And Rose has sensitive ears man!" Tito said through coughs. "Yeah, so how're we going to get him back?" I say, lifting my head. I did feel slightly guilty about just leaving them like that since they were under my supervision but that noise was too loud for my ears to handle and I had to get away from it. "Okay, Rose, Tito. You guys come with me. The rest of you get back to Fagin." Dodger said. I knew he meant that we'd follow them to see where they were going.

The the three of us ran back into the street and we jumped on top of a taxi to follow it. I had my tail up and I looked ahead and my ears were forward, my floppy ear was hanging on my forehead. I was on Dodger's right side and Tito was on his left. We followed them up to what looked like a house that was way too rich for my blood. There was a little girl and that chubby old man who was overweight. The little girl was holding the cat as they went inside. The three of us was on the sidewalk and out of their sight. Tito even tried to pull one of his hot headed temperaments on those humans but Dodger had the good sense to grab him by his tail to hold him back. Now that we know that where the kid is so we can get him out of there.

We went back to where Francis, Rita, and Einstein were. They were at a pawn shop where Fagin was in an attempt to get some money. When they saw us, they looked at us. "Where's the kid?" Rita asked us. "We tailed him all the way at the Park." Dodger answered, nudging his head from the way we came. "We never had a chance." I say, lowering my head and shaking it a bit. "You should see this place, man! There's got to be maybe… two hundred people living there man!" Tito informed them. "You guys, we can't let him take the heat for us." Rita mentioned, thinking clearly. "Yeah, if we don't get him out of there soon, who knows what they'll do to him!" I say, lifting my head and quickly looked back and forth. "Well, what in Heaven's name are we waiting for?" Francis said, seemingly antsy. "But what about Fagin?" Einstein wondered, looking at Fagin. "Alas, our beleaguered benefactor bearing the brunt of our futile endeavours." Francis said, arching his back once again. Psh, wow that place would fit him just fine because I didn't understand what he meant by that.

"Gimme a break! Speak english Frankie!" Tito shouted, getting in Francis's face. Francis was getting angrier by the minute because we know he doesn't like being called that. "Francis. Francis. FRANCIS!" the bulldog shouted, baring his teeth at Tito. Dodger got in between them before a fight ensued. "Cool it!" he said, looking at the both of them. "Okay. You two need to focus what we need to do. First, we need to spring the kid. Then we take care of the old man. Okay? Fighting right now isn't going to solve anything." I say, getting irritated at the two of them. "Good plan, Rose." Rita said to me. "Yeah man! He's family! He's blood!" Tito said, clenching his paw like a fist. And with that, we started to construct a plan on how to get him back. We would do it in a couple of days because it was starting to get dark.

"Okay, you guys go back home and get some rest. I'm going to find us food to help us." I suggested. "That's a good idea. We'll meet you back home." Dodger agreed. And with that, I turned around to find us something to eat. I should've known not to go alone. I should've had one of them go with me.


	4. Chapter 4 Hurt

Our plan was going to be full proof because we needed to get our member back. But since it's getting dark, we decided to bunk down for the night. But I was still out trying to get food for us. Everyone had gone back to the houseboat to wait for me. The usual place that I get our food is by the bay because most humans dispose of their food in that area. It relatively quiet but I was on the lookout for anything suspicious. Besides, it was my turn to find us something to eat anyway. I trotted along the old concrete of the bay and I kept my german shepherd nose to the ground to sniff around the area. When I finally found something, it satisfied me because it looked suitable enough for us to eat.

But before I could get my teeth around it to pick it up, the sound of menacing growling caused me to freeze up as well as the chuckling of an evil man. When I slowly turned around, it was that Sykes guy with Roscoe and Desoto. They were in a fighting position with their teeth bared. "So, you're one of Fagin's mutts? Heh heh, that's fine. When he finds out what I've done to his mutt, he'll pay me even faster." Sykes said sinisterly. I bare my teeth and let out a growl to show that I wasn't backing down from his threat. The doberman's were ready to fight me one Sykes's signal. The dobermans started surrounding me in menacing growls. I began to back up with my head lowered and my teeth bared. "We'll go easy on you, you half breed." Roscoe chuckled evilly. "Yeah, so don't move around too much." Desoto said. Just then, the man snaps his fingers. Before I knew it, I could feel their strong teeth in my fur and skin.

I growl loudly and deliver some blows myself to their necks. The use their heads to push me over and they ended up biting me more than once and I yelped loudly from the pain of their bites. As much as I tried to fight back, they pressure of their blows and bites were too much for me to bear. One of them grabbed ahold of my back fur and skin and they threw me against a couple of trash cans with a loud crash. The dobermans weren't finished with me though… They grabbed me by my forelegs and they instantly threw me aside with a couple of rolls. The more they attacked me, the more hurt I was getting. I wanted one of the guys to help me. I was feeling helpless at this point. I can't take on two dobermans by myself…

All I could feel was their teeth piercing my skin and their devastating blows. When I tried fighting back, they only came at me twice as strong. Then, Sykes snapped his fingers once again to signal the dobermans to stop attacking me. The last thing they did was throw me on the bay and I let out a pained whine. My eyes were shut tightly and I bared my teeth from the pain those dobermans put on me. I pulled my german shepherd paws up to me from the pain and I whined quietly from the inflicted bites from the dobermans, who walked away from me chuckling at my suffering and they left me there to let me wallow in my pain.

Every part of my body was hurting me so much. Those dogs hurt me so much by their master's demand. Did they do this because of me being half german shepherd or was this another attempt to make Fagin pay him faster? This is just cruel… With heavy breaths, I used what strength my body had and used it to push it to my german shepherd paws and groaned from how much the teeth marks were hurting me. My legs were hurting greatly and I bared my fangs from the pain and my ears were laying limply on my head. I think some of my fur was ripped out of my body as well. I had both my head lowered along with my fluffy tail to where it wasn't moving as much. But the pain in my body was too much for me to bear and I stopped walking. Just then, my weight gave out on me and I fell to my right side. My head was stretched out and my vision I hadn't realized that I had passed out from how much pain I was in. I couldn't get up to make it back to the gang.

When I was beginning to wake up, I found that I was laying on my bean bag chair. I didn't hear nothing at first but then begin to hear the voices of the gang. "Look, she's waking up!" Einstein exclaimed. I open my eyes slowly to see that I was back in the houseboat surrounded by the gang, who had worried expressions on their faces. "Rose, are you alright?" Rita asked in a soft tone. Einstein used his large nose to help me up a little bit so that my forelegs were in front of me but I was slouched a little as I was still sore from those dobermans hurting me like they did. "My whole body is sore." I said groaning from how sore I was. "Who did this to you?! I will tell them limb from limb!" Tito sneered, ready to attack the ones who attacked me. When trying to move, it hurt so much. "It was those dastardly dobermans… They attacked me." I say through a groan. Everyone was taken aback by those words because they didn't expect this to happen.

"Those ruffians! They'll pay for this!" Francis said, clearly mad about what those dobermans did this to me. "Why did they do this? Surely they wouldn't have done it just for fun." Dodger questioned, looking at me with a tilted head and concerned eyes. "They… they did this to me because they believe that it'll make Fagin pay him faster…" I groan, laying my head in between my forelegs. Everyone was appalled by this because this is no way that Fagin would pay that man faster because of this. "This is getting out of hand. They'll surely pay for this. But in the meantime, you should rest for now." Rita suggested, staying next to me. Both of my ears laid back all the way and I looked down because of sore and quite shaken up by being attacked those dobermans with no chance of fighting back. I did try to fight back but… they easily overpowered me despite me being half german shepherd. If it was only one of them then I would fight them but two, I didn't stand a chance…

Rita, being the mother figure of my life, jumped up on the bean bag chair with me and she laid next to me. The others, despite being upset that one of their own getting hurt by Roscoe and Desoto, decided to stay with me instead of going to their confined areas. Needless to say, we didn't forget about the mission about getting the cat back from that house but I needed to go with them to get him and I'm not in the right shape to go anywhere. All I did was close my eyes and try to go back to sleep. Resting in my main priority right now. At least I have the next couple of days to rest and heal up. Those dobermans will pay for what they did to me.


	5. Chapter 5 Rescue Mission

Those two days had passed since we lost the cat and me being attacked by Roscoe and Desoto. Fortunately for me, I was well enough to move. When morning had arrived, Rita and I were the first to wake up and I wasn't feeling as hurt anymore. I was still sore a little but not bad enough to keep me grounded. When I jumped down from my bean bag chair, I whined a little bit because of the soreness in my muscles. "Rose, are you okay?" Rita said, checking on me. I looked behind me to look at her. She had a worried look on her face like a mother dog would give to their pup. Ever since I was a pup, she has not only been my friend but the closest thing to a mother that I've ever gotten since my real mother didn't do her job.

"Yeah, Rita, I'm fine. Just sore a little is all." I say. My answer didn't seem to be convincing enough to her because she jumped off the chair and walked over to me. "Rita, I'm okay. Honest." I say, my ears dropping a bit, my floppy ear on the side of my head. She placed her head over my bandana covered neck in a loving matter. "Rita…" I say timidly. "Don't you ever scare me like that again. Einstein was the one who had found you and he brought you back because we hadn't seen you for a while. When he brought you back, I can't begin to tell you how worried we all were." she said to me. I looked down and sighed in defeat because I knew that they'd react that way. "I'm sorry, Rita. I really am. All I was doing was trying to get us food." I reply, closing my eyes. I felt guilty that I didn't bring food back to feed us. "Don't worry about it right now, okay? We're just glad that they didn't do much worse. And I should've gone with you." Rita said, stepping back from me. I shake my head and lower my head a little.

"No, it's better that I was alone because, they would've hurt you too." I retort seriously. She looked down at her forepaws because in a sense I was correct. They would've attacked her as well. "But, regardless, you should've known that you weren't strong enough to take on both of them on your own." she said, her protective side taking over. "I know that now." I sigh, looking down. There was a moment of silence. "Okay. Those dobermans drive me insane." Rita said, shaking her head a bit. I shakily sit down and let my fluffy tail lay behind me. "Yeah. This is the result of them being absolute jerks." I said, releasing a yawn afterwards. "I'm glad that we agree on this." Rita said, smirking a bit. "Hmm, I bet you wanted to hurt them as much as they hurt me." I said, giving a weak yet warming smile. "You think?" she chuckled. I chuckled too because she would in fact to that. "Best friends to the end, huh?" I say. Rita nudged me in a cute manner. "You know it, and I'll never let you forget it either." she said in a sassy yet caring manner. That's when we suggested to wake the others up because we were supposed to get the cat back.

By the time midday arrived, I was feeling right as rain. Even though my fur was partially ripped out, but I knew that it'll grow back. But we haven't forgotten about the payback we're going to give Roscoe and Desoto because I didn't deserve that beat down. But right now, we have another task at hand; getting our friend and member back. We hid in the thick bushes and waited for the girl that had the cat when they got here the other day. "Bye Winston! Goodbye Oliver!" she said, getting my ears to raise. Oliver? Did she name the cat? Well, it's safe to say that I have something to call him instead of calling him 'the cat'. Once she left, we pop out of the bushes to put our rescue mission into action.

"Alright, listen up. We checked it out. All we got to do is…" Dodger started before the sound of pounding was heard in the window. We all look up to see that old man hitting something in his hands. "Oh man! He's dead meat now!" Tito said in a worried tone. I shook my head and cleared my head to think straight. "He won't be when we get in there." I say, baring my teeth a little. "Yes, I'll handle that ruffian." Francis said, now determined. We had to keep a clear head because with a house as fancy as this, we know that they won't easily allow street dogs like us into it. We all hid behind the beam that had kept us completely out of cover from that old man. As we hid, Einstein used his nose to ring the doorbell.

"Einy!" Dodger whispered, getting the Great Dane's attention. "Get out of there!" Dodger scolded. Einstein realized he couldn't be there and he quickly got off the steps and to where we were. Just then, that old man opened the door and asked who was there. But we saw that Francis was laying on the foot of the steps in a dramatic manner. "You!" the old man exclaimed, holding a rolling pin in his hand and held it up as if he was going to hit Francis with is as he pulled the old man down the stairs so that we all could get inside the house. The first thing that came to mind when we entered this place was, 'There's got to be more than just two humans living here.' It was like a castle in here! It was so fancy in here and clean to the point of evidence of our paws being in the dirty streets of New York. "Miralo! Look at this place! Check it out!" Tito exclaimed, taking interest of this fancy place. I looked around with my ears raised.

"Man, Francis, this place suits you just fine. Being as sophisticated as you are." I chuckle, looking at the fancy interior with a smirk on my face. Francis wore that sophisticated manner like a badge of honor and he was proud of it greatly. I follow Rita into what I can assume to be the family room. "This place looks pretty nice. I mean, how bad off cut it be here?" Rita said, also taking interest. "Hey, man if this is torture then chain me to the wall." Tito said, making himself at home. Even though this place is very fancy and nice enough to stay, we needed to still find the cat. We all started to use our noses to find him. The scent was leading me to a seat of curled stairs. I place one of my forepaws on it and look up. "Guys, up there!" I call, starting to climb the stairs. The others started to follow me up the stairs. The scent of the cat was definitely up here but which room was he in?

In one of the rooms, there was another dog. I tilted my head to the right because this type of dog that looked like a used q-tip or something because she had hair on different parts of her body like on her head, ears, the tip of her tail, her neck and chest, and on all four legs. It looked as if she didn't step foot outdoors before in her life. As she was using a tone of what I can assume to be a fancy thing humans use called 'perfume.' She used a lot of it to fill up the room. Dodger then snuck up behind her while the room was still filled with her sweet smelling smoke. I too came up behind her so that we could give her some interrogation. Once the smoke had faded away, the first thing she did was scream because of us being in her vision in the mirror.

"Who are you two?! What do you want?! Winston!" she shouted, sitting on the mirror and it began to rock back and forth under her weight. "Would you calm down?!" I say before the mirror crashed loudly on the floor, getting Dodger and I to cringe from the noise. She began backing up from Dodger and I because she had no idea who we were and what our intentions were. Especially me because I was half german shepherd and somewhat muscular than her. "Don't come any closer! I knew this would happen one day." the poodle said in a pleading tone. Dodger stood up and raised his stubby yet fluffy tail. "Well, you're barkin' up the wrong tree. It's not you that my friend and I are after." Dodger said, assuring the poodle, who had a paw covering her face.

"It's not? It's not?! Well, why not? What's the problem, spot and you insignificant half breed? Not good enough for you two?" the poodle said, stepping closer to us with a disgusted look on her face. "Why would I be into you? I'm not a male." I said, feeling offended. She scoffed at my remark because I was a female dog and a half breed I wasn't worth anything in her eyes. However, I don't care about her petty insult towards me because I love who I am. "So what? I bet you two don't even know who I am, do you?" the poodle said. She was already getting on my nerves because she seemed so conceited and it annoyed me. She wanted us to know about all her accomplishments and it showed just how spoiled she was. "Six time national champion!" she yelled in our faces. "Well, we're all very impressed. Right guys?" Dodger said, trying to sugar coat it. All I did was roll my eyes at this because why would I be friends with a show off?

But there was someone who was attracted by her looks and her achievements. "Very impressed." Tito said, crawling to her like the love sick puppy he is. She, of course, was appalled by Tito's lovestruck demeanor towards her. And frankly, I don't blame her for reacting that way because I don't like being hit on either. And my rejection resulted in my beating. Tito took her by her forepaw and he kissed it. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Igancio Alonzo Julio Frederico de Tito." Tito said, saying his confusing yet long full name. "Get away from me, you little bug eyed creep! Winston!" the poodle exclaimed. Tito falls on his chin with a cheeky grin on his face. I just rolled my eyes and trotted over to where Rita was, who was looking at a picture of another dog with a big smile on his face. "Excuse me, sister, who's Rex?" she asked with curiosity. The poodle then jumps in front of us with anger. "None of your business!" she screeched. That angered me and I raised my tail. "She was just asking!" I growl. "You stay out of this, you half breed!" the poodle growled at me. I growled because of her judging me the way she is.

Soon enough, she was getting onto Einstein and Francis because they were messing with her chocolates and her powder of some sort. When Einstein sneezed the powder, sending the room in a cloud of unbreathable dust. The French Poodle started to lose her patience with us. She growled at us with her teeth bared. "Alright! That tears it! All of you yo-yo's clear out! And I mean now! Winston!" she sneered, not wanting anything to do with us. I, for one, couldn't be the only one irritated by this because the only reason we're here in the first place is to get our cat friend.

"Relax, champ. We'll leave once we get our cat back." Dodger said, looking the other way. This caught the poodles attention. Her demeanor automatically changed at the very mention of the cat. "You're cat? Haha, how stupid of me. You must be the friends he must keep talking about." The poodle said, rightfully embarrassed. I raised my fluffy tail at what she said. "Right. So let us get our cat from here and we'll be on our way. You won't hear from us again. Especially from Tito over there." I say, in a whisper while looking at an lovestruck chihuahua. The look on the poodle's face went white as she realized she wanted nothing to do with Tito. He didn't exactly make a good first impression.

Just then, we all heard footsteps coming up the stairs. We all went into a panic for a brief moment. "Hide…!" the poodle urged. And we all did without question. Dodger pretended to be one of the bed posts with a pot on his head. Einstein and Francis hid under the poodle's blanket. I pretended to be one of those rugs that humans often had in fancy houses. I think at least. My head laid outstretched with my tongue hanging out and my eyes shut. Rita was acting like one of the dog shaped posts. And we had Tito hanging on the door by his bandana. We hear the door open and I got into character. It lasted for just a minute. When he closed the door, I quickly get back to my german shepherd paws and lift my fluffy tail a little. "Shh. Quick. Before he comes back." the poodle, apparently named Georgette as I heard from that human, said in a hushed to us. At that point, she was willing to help us. I'm glad for that.

She led us to what I can only assume to be that little girls room. Sleeping on the bed, was the kitten. He was curled up into a ball and just… slept soundly. Seeing him like this made me realize that coming here wasn't worth it. Both of my ears lower a bit. "Look at him, Dodge… Let's just… forget the whole thing." Rita said, abstaining to 'rescuing' the cat. "Yeah Dodger… he seems fine to me. We shouldn't take him…" I said, lowering my head along with my ears. Seeing him here had me thinking that he's better off staying here where he'll feel safer. He's with someone who loves him and will take good care of him.

"No, you can't do that. You don't understand! The poor dear's so traumatized!" Georgette urged. Just then, that human's voice could be heard right outside the door. Just then, Georgette picked up the cat by his neck hide and flung him into a pillowcase that Einstein and Francis held open. "Huh? What?" the cat exclaimed before being thrown into the pillowcase. The second he was in there, it was tightened up so he wouldn't escape. It made me feel so awful that, despite Rita and I's decision on leaving him here where he's happy, they went ahead and did what they did. "Here, use the fire escape." Georgette inquired to us, opening the window so we could get out. We all jumped out from the window and followed down the trail of metal steps to get down to the alley way that was located at the back of the house. Dodger and I were the last ones to get out.

I looked up at the fire escape with both ears raised and my tail halfway raised. Tito was the only one who didn't come with us. I can think of one reason why that was. "As fancy as that dog is, he's never going to win her over." I said. Dodger agreed with me on that. And I found to be right when I saw Tito being slapped right out of the window, falling down the metal stairs. With each step, he let out a yelp. Once he reached the bottom of the steps. "Ooh! I think she likes me man!" he sang, his headband over his eyes. He was stumbling around and tried to get his footing. We all started to run back to the houseboat to meet up with the others. As we ran, I looked down at the chihuahua with a furrowed brow. "Yeah, I don't think that's the case, Tito." I chuckle, hearing my claws click against the sidewalk as I ran. The whole time we ran back there, practically kidnapping the cat didn't leave my mind. Even though I lived on the streets with my own gang, I didn't feel right about taking him from there. I… felt… awful.


	6. Chapter 6 Regrets

By the time we came back to the houseboat, it was late afternoon. We had gotten the cat back there and almost everyone was in an uproar that our mission was successful. All the boys were thrilled about this who scenario. Rita and I weren't. They didn't see how peaceful the cat was when we got in there. If it were up to me, I'd say we're not taking him. We know he's safe and sound here. And we took him away from the one person that seemed to take care of him.

Einstein dropped the bag and the cat rolled out of it. He looked up at us with a look that I can only describe as confusion. It only made me feel worse. "Hey, what's going on you guys?" the cat asked, rolling on his back to look at us. "Just committed the rescue of the century!" Tito announced, bouncing everywhere with his skinny tail wagging furiously. The cat stood up and focused his eyes on each of us. "R-Rescue?" he asked confused. "You should've seen Frankie with that butler!" Tito howled. Francis was beside himself and smiled proudly. "I was rather good wasn't I?" Francis boasted. I sat down with both hind legs under me and both ears lowered. I didn't have anything to say about this. "How about Tito and Miss. Six Time National Champion?" Dodger said, strutting pass the cat, lifting all his paws off the floor. The cat was still confused as to why we took him from that house.

"What? I don't understand…" he said, lowering his ears. We grew silent and looked at him. I felt concern for the cat and I stood on my German Shepherd paws and walked next to Rita. She too looked regretful of taking him from his home. "You okay kid?" she asked the cat, lowering her head in concern. "Yeah… I'm fine." the cat answered. "Is it something we… did?" I asked, feeling even more profoundly guilty than I already was. "I was happy there! Why'd you guys take me away?" the cat scolded. We all fell silent once again. I gaze at Rita with sad eyes and my German Shepherd head lowered. Both of my ears were lowered all the way.

"We rescued you, kitty. We brought you home." Einstein kindly answered, lowering his Great Dane head to look at the cat. The cat didn't see this as his home anymore… I knew that he was happy where he was. We had no right to take him away. "But… I have another home now. And with someone who loves me." the cat said sadly, lifting his cat ears. Dodger tilted his head in confusion and he stood up on his paws. "What do you mean, kid? You're in the gang. And the gang means 'family.' We risked a whole lot to get you out of there." Dodger said, walking around the cat. "And Rose here would've been our last member if we hadn't taken you in." he continued. I closed both eyes and look down. He wasn't wrong about that I will admit. I'm the youngest out of everyone here aside from the cat. But… I don't know anymore.

"All I ever wanted was…" the cat continued before he was cut off. "What, this place no good for you anymore? Don't want to mess with the riff-raff?" Dodger asked, starting to get angry with the cat. I open my eyes and just looked at the cat. "N-No! I do like you guys. I like everyone of you but… there was a little girl. I just want to go back." the cat said, trying his hardest to get us to understand. "We shouldn't have taken him, Dodger." Rita said, realizing he was right. "We were wrong to do that… we're sorry." I admit, feeling guilty and regretful. The cat looked at me for a second before looking at an angry Dodger. "You want to leave? Fine! There's the door!" Dodger spat, walking away to the door. How can he be so selfish about this? "But he just got here!" Einstein said in shock. He was really kicking the cat out…

I lowered my German Shepherd head with both ears lowered because I've never seen Dodger this upset with anything. I've known him for 4 years and… seeing him this upset made me upset. It hurt me to see Dodger get this mad… especially for something that someone else wanted. It's for the right reasons… "Hey Dodger man… lighten up." Tito nervously said, walking up to him. " _You_ lighten up. If he wants to go. Then by all means, let him." Dodger angrily stated, jumping up on the recliner with his back facing us. He didn't want to see the cat leave. We all had the same feeling at this time. I lower my German Shepherd head in dejection. Now everyone was regretting on having the cat back with us. This was the worst feeling that I ever had right next to being abandoned alone.

He started to go up the stairs. About 4 steps in, Fagin came down the stairs. When I looked up at him, he had a look of despair on his face. "Oh, it's hopeless." he moaned, picking the small cat up and walking down the stairs to go to his chair. Dodger had jumped off of it so Fagin could sit down. We all walk up to him with concerned looks on their faces. It looked like he had given up altogether with trying to find money for that coward. He didn't even know that I gotten beaten up by his lap dogs. He had sat down lazily with the cat in his lap. I lift myself up so that I stood on my hind paws. I leaned against the chair arm.

"What's this?" he said, inspecting the collar that the car was wearing. "So that's where you've been. Looks like you're doing all right for yourself, Oliver." he started, petting the cat. Oliver? That's his name. It suits him pretty well. "Your owner probably spends more money on catnip then we do on food for a month. He's probably worried sick about you. All alone in that big house with only his money to comfort him. Only his millions of dollars to…" he sulked, slumping in his chair before he started chuckling loudly, rising up in his chair. "That's it! We're saved!" he exclaimed, starting to prance around the room. I ended up skidding backwards against the wood floors because of how much he was prancing around. The others had to move as well because he would've stepped on them if they hadn't done so. He winded up grabbing a piece of paper from one of the bins in here and went over to the ironing board and began to write something down.

He was planning on ransoming Oliver in hopes that the girl or man know he's missing and hope to bring a good amount of money to hopefully pay off that psycho. Frankly, I couldn't say that it was a good idea but it's his last possible chance of being free from him.


	7. Chapter 7 Ransom

By the time evening came, Fagin was going to put his plan into action. I knew it wasn't going to be easy but we had no choice with this one. He brought Dodger and I with him while the others waiting on the same dock of where I was attacked before. Needless to say, Rita had told us to be careful because that man can do anything to hurt us. It doesn't matter what. He'll just do it. Once night came around, the three of us go up to where that dastardly man's place.

It was like what I imagined it to be. Huge, eerie, and probably no doubt expensive to run. My fur bristled up a way that showed how nervous I was feeling but thankfully both Fagin and Dodger are here to make me feel comforted and secured some. When we got to the top, Fagin was starting to rehearse of what he was going to say to that man. I sat down and looked up at Fagin with raised ears and sought interest of what he was doing. "This is an airtight plan, Sykes. Sweet and simple. I ransom the kitty, and you get paid in full tomorrow. I'll even toss a little extra for your patience." he said, guffawing at what he said, "Whaddya say? It's my final offer Take it or leave it?" He held out his hand to Dodger and I. We each put our paws into his hand to shake it. Once that was over with, Fagin walked to the buzzer and pressed the button. I backed up a bit and waved my fluffy German Shepherd tail back and forth.

"Yeah who is it?!" the voice on the other end screeched. Fagin cowered down as the security camera focused on him. I looked up at it and bare my teeth a bit. I knew who was looking at us through the other end. "Fagin, it's you. Why didn't you say so?" he questioned, not surprised. Dodger and I started walking around the small platform. "Oh! Good question. But if you're busy… we can drop by some other time." Fagin said, getting close to that camera. "Don't be silly. Just push the door." Sykes said in a lighthearted tone. The door buzzes and I look at Fagin, who was pulling on the door. After a few good tugs, Sykes corrected him. Fagin then flies through the door and Dodger and I followed suit into what I can only assume to be an elevator.

When we make it, the first thing my eyes catch is his doberman's sitting at each side. They give Dodger and I both dirty looks. "Ah! Fagin, come in. I'll be right with you." Sykes greeted. I sit down next to Dodger so that we were on each of his side. Fagin tried saying what he rehearsed but found himself stumbling at each word. I tilt my head to the right and furrowed my brow in confusion. My ears flattened and rose again. Just then, Roscoe and Desoto started going towards him in threatening growls. I too growled in a protective manner and lowered my head baring my teeth. Dodger did the same. We both got in front of Fagin in order to protect him. I raise my fluffy tail to show that I wasn't playing around. These mutts have already taken me down once but I'm ready for a fight. A fair fight this time.

Just then, that psycho snapped both of his fingers once again. Both doberman's jumped at Fagin with their teeth bared all the way. "No! No, please Sykes!" Fagin yelled in panic. I snarl intensively at the dobermans and felt my German Shepherd side come out. I jump at the dobermans and start to bite them with all the strength that I had. Dodger too fought alongside me. I growled loudly as well as bark viciously as I attacked the dobermans. However, I took several blows from the dobermans. Dodger did as well. When one of the dobermans was on top of him, he started scratching the dobermans throat. I quickly sprinted towards the dobermans and sink my teeth into his neck to get him off of Dodger. They growled loudly and furiously at the both of us. The other doberman grabbed me by my back skin and they ripped me away from him. I was quickly to get up to my German Shepherd paws and keep my teeth bared. Dodger was down and he too quickly got to his paws.

I jumped on the dobermans back and tugged at the back of his neck viciously. However, I was overpowered. Blow after blow after they gave Dodger and I. When Sykes snapped his fingers again, they threw Dodger on the floor. He let out a pained yelp and landed on the floor with a hard thud. I too was hurt from the constant inflicts from the dobermans. I was limping heavily at the soreness in all of my legs. I was whimpering with my German Shepherd head lowered. I walked over to Dodger and Fagin. My legs gave out and my head was on Fagin's lap. The blows that those dobermans once again inflicted on me were reopened. Dodger was now hurt by them and they didn't care… I closed my eyes and felt Fagin gently stroking our heads to comfort us. I whimpered with each breath because my body was aching. Our attempts of protecting Fagin left us in bruises…


	8. Chapter 8 Abducted

Shortly after that drastic encounter with Sykes, the three of us went back outside to wait for whoever owned that house where Oliver lives at. I was still limping heavily after being attacked by Roscoe and Desoto all the while protecting Dodger, who was limping also. We were both equally injured. Fagin went a few feet from we were at. I had both ears lowered as well as my head because my entire body was still hurting. We limped our way back to Rita, Einstein, and Tito, who were waiting on us.

"Oh Dodge… Rose…" Rita sadly said. Dodger lifted his head and lifted his half floppy ears to assure her. "Hey Rita. They never laid a paw on us." Dodger said lightly. "Yeah. We're a little banged up but otherwise okay." I agreed, shaking my black and brown fur. I didn't want Rita to worry about either of us. I was still a little sore but I was able to walk at least. "Oooh! I'll tear them mongrels limb from limb!" Tito growled, getting into his feisty stage. We all lightly laugh at Tito's enthusiasm. "Don't overwork yourself, tough guy. You need to save your energy." I say, sitting down and using my left hind leg to scratch my floppy ear. Just then, I hear the sounds of Fagin starting to panic, causing us to look behind us.

There was that same girl that was carrying Oliver into the house. She had that poodle, Georgette with her this time. Tito and I had decided to see what was going on. When we got there, the first thing Tito did was make kissing sounds at the poodle who groaned in disgust. I stood next to Fagin on his right side and looked at the girl. She looked frightened to be out in this part of town. "I can't… I'm lost." she said sadly, looking down at that map that Fagin had drawn for her. I lowered my ears in sadness at the girl's expression. She did look lost. To give her some comfort, I walked over to her and gave her a lick on the cheek. She looked over at me and smiled a bit before giving me a couple strokes behind my ear, getting me to tilt my German Shepherd head a little bit. That honestly felt so soothing.

"I'd help you but I'm kinda busy right now." Fagin inquired, having his back to her, "Why're you out here anyway?" The girl looked up at Fagin with glossy eyes. "I came to find my kitty!" she replied. I raised my ears at that. Oliver belonged to her because he did mention that there was a girl who loves him. "You're kitty?!" Fagin exclaimed in shock. "Someone stole 'im." the girl stated. I lowered my head in guilt because we were the ones who took him from that house. I had my ears lowered some to show how guilty I was feeling. It did hurt greatly but of course I couldn't tell them that.

It soon got to the point where she presented Fagin with a piggy bank of some sort who was disappointed by this. He was expecting more than that. But she said that this was all she had to get Oliver back. I sat down with my German Shepherd tail wrapped halfway around me. Closing my eyes, I tried to block out what was being said around me. Fagin then too felt guilty of holding Oliver for ransom and found it difficult of whether or not he should give him to her. When he dropped the cat into a junk pile, I knew that he was going to reconsider on holding him hostage.

I stood on all fours with my German Shepherd tail raised some. "Hey, guess what?" Fagin excitedly said, tugging at his hat. The girl looked back at him. "I found a little lost kitten! I don't know, take a look! Maybe he's yours!" Fagin said, giving Oliver back. I started wagging my fluffy tail at how happy the girl was at seeing him. Everything seemed to be okay now. Or so I thought.

Suddenly, the sound of a car starting hit my ears and I quickly looked over to see… that psycho's car at the very end of the dock. "Sykes. Sykes!" Fagin yelled, making an attempt to stop the oncoming car. I stood in front of the girl in an attempt to protect her. Then the car speeds past Fagin and stopped where the girl and I were. Sykes then reaches out of his car and grabs the both of us. He grabbed me by my bandana, almost choking me, and he grabbed the girl by her arm. "Hey! Let go!" the girl screamed as we got pulled into the car. "ROSE!" the gang screamed, seeing me get pulled in.

We were both thrown into the back of the car where the dobermans were. The girl, who's name was Jenny, was sitting behind me clearly scared by this situation. Oliver had been thrown out of the car, which made me so mad. When I tried to attack him from behind, one of the dobermans took ahold of my bandana to pull me back down to the seat. I yelped from the sudden grab and how hard they pulled me back. Jenny hugged my neck out of fear of Sykes and the dobermans. We were both confused and frightened of what was going to happen next. When I looked out of the back window, I saw the gang along with Oliver and Georgette. My ears lowered because I can't imagine how scared the were of not only seeing Jenny get taken but me also. But I had to keep a level head about this. The gang will come to rescue us from this danger we are in.


	9. Chapter 9 Getting Rescued

Back at the warehouse, Sykes had taken both Jenny and I back to his office. He tied me up by the chair by tying a rope around my neck and the other end was tied to the chair Jenny was sitting in. He made sure that we weren't going anywhere. Jenny was surely scared of Sykes as she was starting to cry and whimpering as the psycho was tying her up. I lower my ears and look up at the little girl. She didn't deserve this… why did he take her? He was now going to desperate measures to get his money. And why did he take me? It didn't make sense to me…

"Now don't cry little girl. They only eat when I tell them to. And if that mutt tries anything, I'll let them finish her." he threatened, Roscoe and Desoto slowly circling us while growling lowly. They eyed me as if they were ready to spring. I bare my teeth a bit because of the threat made against both Jenny and I. No one was going to hurt her while I was here. The dobermans then faced me with their teeth bared. "Don't try nothing, Rose. We don't want to hurt you like we did before." Roscoe threatened, keeping his eyes straight on me. "You made a big mistake taking us on last time, you half breed." DeSoto agreed. I growled back at them and raised my German Shepherd tail. "You two are so lucky I'm tied up right now. You'd be finished. I'm half German Shepherd and I'll use that side to finish you." I growl. They just laughed at me. "That won't matter when we put you in the ground." Roscoe stated, going back to Sykes with DeSoto.

After a bit, Sykes goes back to his desk with Roscoe and Desoto sitting beside him. All I could do right now was lay down and hope that Dodger and them would find us. Both of my forelegs were in front of me with my German Shepherd head on them so it laid on the right side of them. I did know not to go to sleep because I needed to know if the gang was coming after us.

Not soon after, my ears twitch at the close sound of what I can only describe as glass shattering. My head jerked up and I looked behind me with my ears raised. Sykes then sends Roscoe and Desoto to investigate. The two dogs walked passed us slowly, paying no mind to either of us. Relief washed over me because I knew exactly who made that noise. I knew that the gang was here to get out of here. And I turned out to be right as my eyes pan to the security cameras behind Sykes and I see the gang standing in front of the cameras. That made me feel so relieved because I knew they wouldn't leave us here.

The camera then suddenly shuts off, indicating that Tito must've bit the wire so they wouldn't get caught. I slide up to a sitting position with my forepaws pressed onto the ground but my German Shepherd tail still laying behind me on the floor. Even though I was happy to see the gang, I had to remain cool and not struggle to get myself free. The rope around my neck was tight enough and I can't make it worse. I looked over at Jenny, who looked back at me who had that same look of relief because of seeing Oliver in the camera. My ears lower as I look at her. Sykes then proceeds to tell Winston about getting Jenny's father on the phone about her kidnapping. He didn't mention me. I think he only took me because of me being a half breed dog? He had targeted me before for hoping to get the money faster out of Fagin. None of it made any sense.

Then, a few knocks at the door made Sykes put the phone down in hearing it. I stand up and turn my body around with my ears raised to see that it was none other than Tito, Francis, and Einstein disguised as a pizza man to get Sykes' attention. "I didn't order any pizza." he seethed, getting up from his desk with a loaded gun in his hand. When he walked by us, I backed up a bit and into Jenny. As long as we're here, nothing is going to happen to this little girl. Even if it kills me, I'll protect her from Sykes and Roscoe and Desoto.

Just then, I see the gang walk in with Oliver in tow. All except Tito and Georgette. Wonder how they're getting along. Dodger quickly came over to me and bit one the rope that was wrapped around my neck. Once he got me off of there, I shook my fur at how tight those bindings were. Oliver happily jumps up to Jenny's shoulders and the two reunite once again. I smiled at this because I saw how happy they were together. But we had to be cautious because Sykes could come back any minute.

"Dodger? Where's the others?" I whisper, lowering my head and raising my ears. "Keeping Sykes distracted." he responded. "Yo, we're here!" Tito said, coming in with the gang behind him. Francis was going to keep an eye for Sykes because we had to get Jenny out of here before he returns. Rita proceeds to untie Jenny. I stayed by Jenny and Oliver to protect them while Rita was untying her. Before she could get all the way through, I could hear footsteps beginning to make their way back down here. Dodger rushed to Francis, who was watching something else when he was supposed to be watching for Sykes. When Dodger turns it back to the security cameras, Sykes was coming down the corridor with Roscoe and Desoto.

"Oh goodness!" Francis exclaimed, seeing them. "What do you we do, Dodger?" Rita asked, seeming worried. I had my head raised up along with my tail. When I looked up at the wires, an idea popped back into my head. "Hey, Tito, the wire." I said, to which he objects instantly. "Yeah, that's our way out." Dodger agreed. "Hey, no way Rose and Dodger! I've been barbequed too many times!" Tito protested. He's the only one smallest dog in the gang so he fits the bill. "Good luck, Alanzo. I'll be waiting…" Georgette said, fluttering her eyes in a flirtatious way at Tito. "You might just get her if ya do this, Romeo." I lower my head at Tito with a teasing look on my face. At this, Tito had changed his mind because it would seem that he had finally won her over.

"Hey, heigh-ho! Heigh-ho! It's off to work we go!" Tito sang as he proceeded to jump on random boxes to get to the wires. I jump on Jenny's lap with all of my legs tucked next to me so I wouldn't fall off. Everyone else got onto a place on the chair as we waited for Tito to get the us out of there. "C'mon Tito…" Dodger urged. When we got hooked up, Tito had connected the wires again and we all began to lift up off the ground with a loud whirring sound. My eyes pan down to see that Sykes, Roscoe and DeSoto broke through the door that the gang had locked behind them. The dobermans jumped up at us in an attempt to bite us but ended up missing.

We were all riding along the electrical crane in a fast pace. My fur blew in front of me because we're going backwards. We were all yelling from the speed of the crane. Next thing I know, we were falling from the crane from very high up. I was falling face first while yelling out because the ground was getting closer, and closer, and closer. But what we landed on wasn't the floor, it was a conveyor belt. Dodger was the first in front of us before Oliver, me, Rita, Einstein, Tito, Francis, Georgette, and Jenny. My hind legs were up slightly as we slid down the conveyor belt at a very fast pace. We went down a few turns before getting to the bottom.

Sykes was at the bottom with Roscoe and DeSoto at his sides. We all looked at him with shocked expressions because we had believed that we had escaped. "This has all been very entertaining, but the party is over." Sykes chuckles, holding his hand up with two fingers pressed together as if he was getting ready to snap his fingers. He was going to finish us off.


	10. Chapter 10 Final Fight

"This has been all very entertaining. But the party is over." Sykes said in a chuckle, holding two of his fingers up as he was ready to snap his fingers. But before he could do that, the familiar sound of Fagin's scooter horn filled the air and he busted through the window while on his scooter. "Ow-oh-oh-ow! Uh! C'mon! Let's go!" Fagin shouted, screeching to a stop. We all didn't hesitate to get in the basket of the scooter. I was in the back with Dodger, Oliver, and Tito and my German Shepherd forepaws hanging over the railing.

We all sped out of there the second we boarded. "Fagin!" Sykes yelled in anger. Roscoe and DeSoto started to run after us. But we were too fast for them. Their image was getting smaller and smaller. "Heh-heh! Hey man! You're ugly! And you're uglier than him! You're ugly part 3! The revenge of the ugly!" Tito taunted as we completely lost sight of the dobermans. "We really showed them!" I shouted, before the speeding engine of Sykes's car was making an appearance. "Spoke too soon there!" Tito gasped. That car was picking up speed to where he was close to bumping us. Fagin yelled out before picking up speed as well.

This human was absolutely crazy! What's it going to take for him to leave us alone?! We were going down a flight of subway stairs, bumping our way down. Sykes was now following us down the stairs, knocking off his side view mirrors. We were now in the subway and on the tracks in hopes of losing him. But that didn't work because he made his way onto the tracks also, causing his tires to completely fall off the rim so lightning flew from the rim. There were so many humps and bumps on the tracks that it was difficult for Fagin to drive straight.

He then bumped the back of the scooter so hard that Jenny winded up falling out of the back. She landed on the hood of his car. Sykes punched through the window and grabbed her arm tightly. My protective instincts kicked in as well as Oliver's and we both jumped out of the basket. Oliver doesn't hesitate to sink his small teeth into Sykes's finger. "Agh!" the man yelled from the sudden pain and he throws him in the back. I bare my teeth and the minute Sykes stuck out his hand again, I don't hesitate to bite him as hard as I could, sinking my fangs deep into his skin. He screamed from the pain and managed to shake me off. I've always wanted to bite that psycho. I then saw that Oliver was being cornered by Roscoe and DeSoto. "Dodger! The kid's in trouble!" I yell, getting his attention. "I'm right with you!" he shouted over the noise before Dodger used his hind legs to join me.

The two of us jump through the sunroof and land on the backseat. I once again sink my teeth into Roscoe's neck and I grab ahold of his neck fur and skin with a tight grip and I shook my head violently. In his reaction, he caused both of us to fly through the back window of the car. The glass shattered behind us and we were now on the trunk of the car. My actions caused him to nearly fall off the car. When trying to grab me, I end up using my head to push him completely off so that the lightning surged through his body. The doberman let out a pained yelp as he was taken away by the lightning. Dodger met up with me so that we were both on the back.

"I killed him… Roscoe is dead…" I said slightly shakily because I bucked up the courage to throw one of our enemies over the edge. Dodger ended up nuzzling me to comfort me but only for a second before DeSoto made his final appearance. He ended up tackling Dodger down as well as knocking me out of the way. Dodger let out a yelp of pain as DeSoto was pushing down on his head to hurt Dodger. I was about to save him but Oliver beat me to it. The cat jumped onto DeSoto's head and it freaked the doberman out. He yelped all while rearing up; he lost his balance and fell into the fiery tracks below, killing him instantly. Dodger picked him up by his neck hide and held him there.

We were outside once again but on a bridge. I jumped back on the hood. "Mr. Fagin! Mr. Fagin help me!" Jenny cried, holding on to the front piece of the car. Fagin came to the back of the scooter. When he had grabbed her by the leg, I didn't hesitate to once again bite down on his hand with a protective growl. "AGH!" he yelled. I held on tightly this time and didn't hesitate to let go. I shook my German Shepherd head roughly in hopes of doing real damage. Just then, I saw the form of what I can only make out to be on coming train headed our direction. I felt scared at first because if that train were to hit us head on, we would be killed instantly. Oliver then pounces on Sykes's hand so I could let go. I immediately let go the second Oliver jumped on him and I backed up enough to do a swift jump back into the basket of the scooter.

Jenny jumped in the basket after Oliver got a hold of him. When I looked over, Tito was behind the wheel of the scooter but I didn't question it. "ALANZO!" Georgette screamed as the train got closer and closer but Tito made the smart move of pulling up to the rising beams of the bridge to get out of the way. I couldn't help but look down as the train collided with the car. Sykes was killed on impact with the train. As the chaos died down, we all slowly slid down the beam slowly. We weren't out of the woods just yet. Where was Oliver and Dodger?

Once we reached the bottom of the beam, Jenny jumped out. "Oliver?" she whimpered, starting to sob. As she said his name, we see Dodger limp slowly in our direction with Oliver in his mouth by his neckhide. "No…" I gasp, both of my ears dropping and my eyes widening. I too jump out and run alongside Jenny with the others behind us. When we stopped by him, I was shocked to see that… Oliver wasn't breathing. I lowered my head and began to whimper in sadness. Sykes couldn't have killed him… My heart was starting to break.

But then, the sound of a soft meow got me to perk up, and I lift my head up. "Oliver? Oliver!" Jenny exclaimed, her expression brightening at seeing Oliver alive. We all brightened up and I began to wag my fluffy tail happily and I couldn't help but lick the girl on the face. She giggled and petted me behind the ears. She petted Dodger also between his partially floppy ears. Everything was okay again… Sykes and his dastardly dobermans weren't going to bother us anymore. In excitement, I rolled over onto my back. She ended up rubbing my belly and it felt sooo good! Now we can all go home safely.

 **Only one more chapter my good people! It's sad to see this story end with Rose but I'll also get to write a sequel with Rose! Stay tuned for that.**


	11. Chapter 11 Aftermath

It had just been under a week since that final encounter with Sykes and his dobermans. Everything was as it should be. We were living peacefully again without them constantly hanging over our shoulders. We can live freely again. It felt so amazing to finally just be ourselves again. Today, we were celebrating Jenny's birthday and Winston had invited all of us to be there since we saved Jenny's birthday.

I was sitting next to Dodger on his right while Oliver sat on his left, next to Jenny, who was wearing a red dress. Winston and Fagin were singing Happy Birthday while we all howled along. I barked happily with my tail wagging and my tongue hanging out. "Alright, anybody want some cake?" Jenny offered. Einstein had his eyes all on it. "Alright Einstein but not all it!" Jenny laughed. I happily barked as I wanted some as well. "I certainly wouldn't leave you out, Rosie." she said, petting me between my ears. I licked her hand in a friendly manner.

She gave me a slice of cake and I devoured it instantly. It tasted so awesome! And while I was eating it, the sound of Tito's annoying music was playing in the background. "Ugh… seriously?" I groan, seeing not only him but Georgette dancing with it. It did make me happy to see our little Romeo finally get his Juliet. Such a casanova.

Afterwards, we all went into the kitchen to open up some presents with Jenny. I had taken my seat in front of her with my tail raised. She opened up the one I gave her. It was an old book that I found a couple of days ago. Spending time with Jenny and Oliver along with the gang has to be one of the best times that I ever did. I couldn't be more happier to be with them at this moment in time.

But it had to come to an end at some point. Fagin came into the room saying that it was time to go home. That was alright because we could come back here anytime under the influence of Winston. "Francis, Rita, Rose, Tito, vamanos! The streets are calling!" Fagin called. "Jennifer, what have we forgotten?" Winston reminded. "Oh yeah! Thanks everyone! The gifts are great!" Jenny replied, hugging us in a way of thanking us. I once again gave her a lick on the face while wagging my tail.

I walked out of the house and into the streets as I awaited for the rest of the gang. As I stood there, I began to think of all of what we've been through in the last few days. It was insane to say the least. There was no other way of describing it. The thrill and adrenaline that coursed through our veins felt unlike anything we've ever experience before. Meeting this kitty was the best thing that happened to our gang. Our family. He's officially apart of our family even if he's living with Jenny.

We all met outside with Oliver as Fagin was starting up the scooter. Everyone except Tito. Guess he needed a little extra time with his new girlfriend. "Bye-bye, kitty." Einstein said. "See ya around kid." Rita said, slightly nudging him. "We shall meet again, Oliver." Francis quoted. "Goodbye you guys." Olive stated, looking at us with slightly saddened eyes. "I'll catch up with you guys in a moment guys." I said, shaking my head. They agreed and took off after the scooter. Dodger and I stayed behind. "Listen kid. You, Rose, and I just want to hang out or anything-?" Dodger said, stretching his limbs. Just then, Tito rushes out of the house… wearing a sailor suit! I almost started laughing at how ridiculous he looked. "Aiee-hee!" he screeched, hiding behind Dodger and I.

"Whoa! What happened to you? Gettin' pampered by your Juliet?" I laughed. "Oi, I can't get this woman off me! Man, I gotta get her away from me!" he groaned, trying his hardest to get the suit off him. Once he heard Georgette in the window, he got it off and took off running. Of course he said his goodbyes to Oliver before leaving. I chuckle at him. "Well, kid, guess I'll be seeing ya. Just remember, we can always drop by for a visit from time to time. Don't forget that." I said, giving the cat a friendly yet confident look. "I'll keep my eyes open." Oliver happily said. "You think you can handle the champ?" Dodger said, pulling one of his high five jokes on Oliver but it ended up getting reversed on him. "Hey. You're cool. For a cat." Dodger said with a grin. He then stands up and says to me, "You ready to hit the road, Rose?" My tail wags at that. "You know I am, Dodge." I smile and we take off to find the others.

This wouldn't be the last time we would see Oliver but us dogs would get back to what we do best. Living freely in the Big Apple. Living in the heart of New York City. The place to call home and forever I'll call it that. Nothing will change this. Not as long as we live.

 **Hence the last chapter of Streets of Gold. But it's not over yet! There will be a sequel coming out very soon! So stay tuned and stay awesome!**


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